Further Reading

Bitcoin's trading price has been steadily declining since the beginning of 2014, and as of this writing is hovering around $470 and falling.

While MtGox itself was unavailable, other Bitcoin sites joined together on Monday evening to make a “joint statement to the Bitcoin community regarding Mt. Gox.”

They write:

This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt.Gox was the result of one company’s actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry. There are hundreds of trustworthy and responsible companies involved in bitcoin. These companies will continue to build the future of money by making bitcoin more secure and easy to use for consumers and merchants. As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today.

Meanwhile, a “Crisis Strategy Draft” slide deck that appears to have come from MtGox began to circulate on Twitter. It outlines a plan to “Shut down MtGox for 1 month, with a rebranded landing page,” to be completed by the morning of February 25, Japan time. However, this deadline has already passed. The undated document, the authenticity of which could not be verified, states that the Tokyo-based company lost over 744,000 bitcoins (worth around $350 million) in a "malleability-related theft that went on for years."

“Regardless of malleability and regulatory issues, MtGox's main problems are massive robbery and poor bitcoin accounting,” the document states. “However, the business as an exchange is highly profitable and healthy when run properly.”

The document refers to a “rebranding” as Gox, under a new CEO and new executives. Indeed Gox.com whois records show that it was recently sold to Mark Karpelès, the current CEO of MtGox. Karpelès also did not respond to Ars' request for comment.

Update: MtGox updated its home page with the following message after publication:

Dear MtGox Customers,

In the event of recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's operations and the market, a decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being in order to protect the site and our users. We will be closely monitoring the situation and will react accordingly.